Wisconsin

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Wisconsin
Capital Madison
Nickname The Badger State
Official Language English
Governor Scott Walker, R
Senator Ron Johnson, R
(202) 224-5323
Contact
Senator Tammy Baldwin, D
(202) 224-5653
Contact
Ratification of Constitution/or statehood May 29, 1848 (30th)
Flag of Wisconsin Motto: Forward
Geographic map of Wisconsin

Wisconsin, the "Badger State", or unofficially "America's Dairyland", was the thirtieth state to enter the union, on May 29, 1848. The capital city of Wisconsin is Madison.

The town of Ripon in Wisconsin was "The Birthplace of the Republican Party" in 1854.

The state tree is the sugar maple, the state song is "On Wisconsin", the state flower is the wood violet, the state bird is the American robin, the state animal is the badger, the state fossil is the trilobite, and the state fish is the muskellunge.[1]

History

Prior to U.S. independence

The first people believed to have inhabited Wisconsin are called "Paleo-Indians", adaptable communities believed by those who accept evolution to have lived around 12,500 to 8,000 years ago,[2] although evidence strongly points to a more recent timeframe. In the centuries surrounding the life of Christ, the natives began to domesticate and build great mounds—culminating in the Effigy Mounds culture during the Early Middle Ages.[3] Around AD 1000, a new people and a relatively advanced culture, the Middle Mississippian culture, penetrated the area, emigrating from ceremonial city of Cahokia, which is estimated to have had tens-of-thousands of inhabitants.[4] They built several communities in Wisconsin, which was at the far north of their reach, and they lasted until about AD 1200.[4] After European settlers started advancing inward, numerous native peoples moved westward, many of them settling in Wisconsin.[5]

Europeans began exploring Wisconsin around the 1620s-30s, with Etienne Brule widely believed to have been the first European explorer to visit in 1622, although the authenticity of the account is disputed.[6] Wisconsin was under French influence until 1760, when the British took over.[7] The Fur Trade dominated economic activity in Wisconsin during the colonial period, where Europeans sold various items to the natives for beaver skins.[8]

U.S. territory

On July 13, 1787, the Northwest Ordinance was adopted by the American Second Continental Congress, which created a provisional government over the land northwest of the Ohio River, including present-day Wisconsin.[9] Slavery was prohibited in this territory.[9] Wisconsin only saw one conflict on its territory during the War of 1812 at Fort Shelby on St. Feriole Island at Prairie du Chien in 1814.[10] Several battles of the 1832 Black Hawk War, including the Battle of Wisconsin Heights, were fought in Wisconsin.[11] The first territorial capital was Belmont,[12] located about thirty miles from Dubuque, Iowa.

During the first half of the 19th Century, natives lost control over Wisconsin land and whites settled the land.[13][14] A major survey of Wisconsin began in 1832 in order to measure and subdivide the land, and this would not be complete until 1866.[9] On July 4, 1836, due to sufficient population growth, Wisconsin Territory was formed, created out of Michigan Territory.[15]

Wisconsin enjoyed a lead mining boom in the 1830s and 40s until the California gold rush of 1849 drew many miners away. It was a mining state before it became a predominantly agricultural state. Metallic lead could be picked up from the ground without digging. Cornish miners (from Britain) were some of the earliest European settlers of the state.[16]

Statehood

In 1846, Wisconsin voters passed a referendum to become a U.S. state.[17] A constitutional convention met in Madison, Wisconsin, drafting a very "advanced and progressive" constitution in December 1846 that included several controversial measures, such as allowing immigrants who applied for citizenship to vote and black suffrage.[17] The proposed constitution was defeated in an April 1847 referendum, and a new convention drafted "a more acceptable and moderate" constitution, which was accepted by the voters in March of 1848.[17] Wisconsin was admitted into the Union as the 30th state on May 29, 1848.[18]

Prior to the Civil War, Wisconsin was an important stop on the Underground Railroad.[19] "Wisconsin soldiers fought in every major battle of the Civil War," with the Iron Brigade being the most well-known unit from the state.[20]

Between 1840 and 1880, Wisconsin was considered "America's breadbasket", with 1/6th of all wheat grown in the U.S. coming from the state.[21] However, by the end of the 19th Century, dairy farming was becoming prevalent, with mainly German and Scandinavian immigrants taking up the industry.[21] By 1915, Wisconsin produced the most butter and cheese out of every other state.[21] In addition, skilled manufacturing became prevalent in the state.[22] The state also had a major logging industry during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.[23]

Political history

The Carnegie Library in Ripon, built 1910

Wisconsin has an interesting political history that is not easy to define. The Free Soil Party performed above average in Wisconsin in the 1848[24] and 1852[25] presidential elections.[26]

When the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska bill, which became law that same year, was proposed, it met very strong opposition in Wisconsin, regardless of one's political affiliation.[26] Numerous meeting were held against the bill, and in one of them held in Ripon, Wisconsin, political leaders under the leadership of lawyer Alvan E. Bovay proposed the creation of a new political party.[26] Other similar meetings also supported creating a new party, and "in July of 1854, a convention was held in Madison to organize the new party"—the Republican Party.[26] Ripon is thus considered by many to be birthplace of the party.[26] At the very beginning, the Republican Party performed very well in the state.[26]

Wisconsin cannot be stereotyped politically. It is often associated with the name of anti-communist crusader of the 1950s Joseph McCarthy, but is equally tied to that of Robert M. La Follette and his Progressive faction of the Republican Party and the Progressive Party. Socialists flourished in Germania in Milwaukee, typified by Victor Berger, the first Socialist Party candidate elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Frank Zeidler, the Mayor of Milwaukee from 1948-1960 was the last in a string of twelve socialist mayors of Milwaukee, whose emphasis on the basics of municipal service led them to be called "sewer socialists."[27] The state is usually a battleground in presidential elections. Its Republicans tend to be moderates, such as Tommy Thompson, who served as a four-term governor from 1987 to 2001, then entered the cabinet.

Economy

Southwestern Wisconsin is now a less heavily populated agricultural region even though for a while it was the economic center of the state. The Southeast, which includes Milwaukee and the suburban corridor running south to Chicago, is now the most populous section of the state.

Wisconsin is well known for its dairy industry and is a top producer of cheese in the US.

Elected Officials

Federal

Statewide

Legislature

Wisconsin's legislative branch consists of a senate and an assembly.

However, in February 2011, 14 Democratic senators left the state to boycott a controversial Senate vote. [1]

See Wisconsin budget controversy.

Sports in Wisconsin

Milwaukee is home to three professional sports teams. The Brewers (baseball), the Bucks (basketball), and the Admirals (hockey). Wisconsin is also home to the Green Bay Packers football team which has largest following of any professional sports team. Wisconsin is also home to various college sports programs, most notably the Wisconsin Badgers and the Marquette Golden Eagles.

Abortion in Wisconsin

Wisconsin has the 8th lowest abortion rate in the United States, and it has declined to a record low since 1974, the first year after Roe v. Wade:[28]

There were 9,580 abortions done in the state in 2006, down from 9,817 in 2005. This is the third year in a row that abortions in the Midwestern state have decreased and the number is the lowest since 1974.
"Wisconsin Right to Life is ecstatic that Wisconsin abortion numbers continue to decline," Barbara Lyons, the group's director, told LifeNews.com in a statement.
"In addition, the abortion rate (which represents the number of abortions per 1000 women of childbearing age) remains at 8, which is one of the lowest abortion rates in the nation," Lyons added. The national abortion rate is about 15 per 1,000 women.
In the statement, Wisconsin Right to Life[29] suggests that the abortions are on the decline because of its work and pro-life legislation the state has enacted and polls showing that younger Americans are more pro-life than previous generations. ...
There are 14 abortions per 100 life births in Wisconsin, lower than the 24 per 100 live births nationwide.
In 2006, there were 596 abortions on minors. Written consent (usually by a parent) was provided in 530 of these; the patient was an emancipated minor in 24; and a court granted a petition to waive the parental consent requirement in 42. There were no teens who got abortions after being victimized by sexual assault. ...
Some 85 percent of the abortions were surgical and 15 percent involved abortion drugs, an increase of one percent over 2005.

Bibliography

Surveys

  • Campbell, Henry C. Wisconsin in Three Centuries, 1684-1905 (4 vols., 1906), highly detailed popular history
  • James K. Conant. Wisconsin Politics And Government: America's Laboratory of Democracy (2006)
  • Richard Current, Wisconsin: A History (2001)
  • Larry Gara; A Short History of Wisconsin 1962
  • Holmes, Fred L. Wisconsin (5 vols., Chicago, 1946), detailed popular history with many biographies
  • Robert C. Nesbit, Wisconsin: A History (rev. ed. 1989)
  • Quaife, Milo M. Wisconsin, Its History and Its People, 1634-1924 (4 vols., 1924), detailed popular history & biographies
  • Raney, William Francis. Wisconsin: A Story of Progress (1940),
  • A. H. Robinson and J. B. Culver, ed., The Atlas of Wisconsin (1974)
  • I. Vogeler, Wisconsin: A Geography (1986);
  • WPA, Wisconsin: A Guide to the Badger State 1941; detailed guide to every town and city, and cultural history

Detailed scholarly studies

  • Anderson, Theodore A. A Century of Banking in Wisconsin (1954)
  • Braun, John A Together in Christ: A history of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (2000), 55 pp
  • Buenker, John D. The History of Wisconsin. Volume IV The Progressive Era, 1893-1914 (1998), highly detailed history
  • Brøndal, Jørn. Ethnic Leadership and Midwestern Politics: Scandinavian Americans and the Progressive Movement in Wisconsin, 1890-1914. University of Illinois Press, 2004 ISBN 0-87732-095-0.
  • Bungert, Heike, Cora Lee Kluge, and Robert Ostergren, eds. Wisconsin: German Land and Life. (Madison: Max Kade Institute, 2006. 260 pp. isbn 0-92411-926-8.)
  • Butts, Porter. Art in Wisconsin ( Madison, 1936).
  • Clark, James I. Education in Wisconsin (1958).
  • Cochran, Thomas C. The Pabst Brewing Company (1948), the best history of any brewery
  • Mike Corenthal. Illustrated History of Wisconsin Music 1840-1990: 150 Years (1991)
  • Richard Nelson Current. History of Wisconsin: The Civil War Era, 1848-1873 (1976) standard state history
  • Curti, Merle and Carstensen, Vernon. The University of Wisconsin: A History (2 vols., 1949)
  • Curti, Merle. The Making of an American Community A Case Study of Democracy in a Frontier County (1969), in-depth quantitative social history
  • Fries, Robert F. Empire in Pine: The Story of Lumbering in Wisconsin, 1830-1900 (1951).
  • Paul Geib; "From Mississippi to Milwaukee: A Case Study of the Southern Black Migration to Milwaukee, 1940-1970" The Journal of Negro History, Vol. 83, 1998
  • Glad, Paul W. The History of Wisconsin, Volume 5: War, a New Era and Depression, 1914-1940, standard state history
  • Haney, Richard C. A History of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin since World War II
  • Jensen, Richard. The Winning of the Midwest: Social and Political Conflict, 1888-1896 (1971)
  • Lampard, Eric E. The Rise of the Dairy Industry in Wisconsin (1962).
  • McBride, Genevieve G. On Wisconsin Women: Working for Their Rights from Settlement to Suffrage
  • Herbert F. Margulies; The Decline of the Progressive Movement in Wisconsin, 1890-1920 (1968)
  • Merrill, Horace S. William Freeman Vilas: Doctrinaire Democrat (1954) Democratic leader in 1880s and 1890s
  • Olson, Frederick I. Milwaukee: At the Gathering of the Waters
  • A History of Agriculture in Wisconsin, by Schafer, Joseph (1922)
  • Schafer, Joseph. "The Yankee and Teuton in Wisconsin", Wisconsin Magazine of History, Vol. 6, No. 2, Dec. 1922, pp. 125–145, compares Yankee and German settlers
  • Still, Bayrd. Milwaukee, the History of a City 1948 online edition
  • Thelen, David. Robert M. LaFollette and the Insurgent Spirit 1976.
  • Unger, Nancy C. Fighting Bob LaFollette: The Righteous Reformer (2000)

Primary sources

References

  1. ↑ http://www.legis.state.wi.us/senate/scc/kids/facts.htm
  2. ↑ First Peoples. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  3. ↑ Effigy Mounds Culture. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mississippian Culture and Aztalan. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  5. ↑ Iroquois Wars of the 17th Century. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  6. ↑ Arrival of the First Europeans. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  7. ↑ Colonialism Transforms Indian Life. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  8. ↑ The French Fur Trade. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 The Northwest Ordinance, 1787. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  10. ↑ The War of 1812. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ The Black Hawk War. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  12. ↑ Belmont Wisconsin town website
  13. ↑ Treaty Councils, from Prairie du Chien to Madeline Island. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  14. ↑ Early U.S. Settlement. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  15. ↑ The Creation of Wisconsin Territory. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  16. ↑ Lead Mining in Southwestern Wisconsin. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 The State Constitutions of 1846 and 1848. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  18. ↑ Wisconsin enters the Union - This Day in History. History.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  19. ↑ Wisconsin. History.com. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  20. ↑ The Iron Brigade, Old Abe and Military Affairs. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 The Rise of Dairy Farming. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  22. ↑ The Rise of Skilled Manufacturing. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  23. ↑ Logging and Forest Products. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  24. ↑ 1848 Presidential General Election Results. uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  25. ↑ 1852 Presidential General Election Results. uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 Wisconsin and the Republican Party. Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  27. ↑ Milwaukee Sewer Socialism, Wisconsin State Historical Association
  28. ↑ Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com (Apr. 9, 2007) http://www.lifenews.com/state2218.html
  29. ↑ http://www.wisconsinrighttolife.org


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